The Scapegoat
by Marla Fair
Summary: When Laura hears her Pa call himself a 'scapegoat' she wonders what it means. The answer comes a few days before Easter and brings with it a greater understanding of what Jesus' sacrifice was all about.
1. Chapter 1

The Scapegoat

oooooooooooo

ONE

ooooo

Laura had a question. She had a question that she didn't want to ask because it was one of those questions that made it sound like you were asking something that you shouldn't, and so she didn't - ask the question that was.

And it was drivin' her just plain crazy!

It was an important kind of question, something that really _really _mattered. Something that mattered so much that the answer could change just about everything she knew…or believed…or both.

But she didn't dare ask it.

Ma would skin her.

Pa would give her that 'look'.

And the Reverend Alden? Well, he might just tell her she was goin' to Hell.

Nope. She wasn't gonna ask it.

But it _was_ gonna drive her crazy.

"Laura, is something wrong?"

The little brown-haired girl had her nose pressed up against the loft window. It was a cold, wet April evening. The flowers that had punched their way up through the soil and bloomed in late March were all dead now.

Dead.

Dead like….

"Laura!"

With a sigh, she turned to look at her sister Mary who was standing behind her with her hands on her hips. Gosh, she looked like Ma!

"What?" she shouted back.

"You've been sitting there with your nose pressed up against that glass for hours." Mary peeked over her shoulder. "Do you see something out there I don't see?"

"It hasn't been hours," she sighed.

"Supper's ready."

Laura wrinkled her nose. It did feel kind of..stiff.

"Well, maybe it's been _an _hour." At her sister's look, she added, "Or maybe a little more…."

"I know you, Laura Ingalls. Something's bothering you. Why don't you tell me what it is?"

Why didn't she? Maybe she could tell Mary, or ask her, or….

Nope.

Mary would go to Ma and Ma would go to the Reverend and there she'd be goin' back to Hell.

The little brown-haired girl shrugged. "Maybe I am. But even_ if_ I am, it's not your business -_ Mary_ Ingalls - it's _mine_."

Mary shrugged. "Suit yourself, but you better come off of that cloud you're on before Pa gets home."

_That _got her interest.

"Why?"

Mary moved in a little closer and lowered her voice. "I don't know what it is, but Ma said 'Your father is going to be fit to be tied when he gets home'."

That wasn't good.

"Did she say why?"

Mary shook her head. "No. I think it has something to do with money."

When _didn't_ it have to do with money?

"We ain't got any, so how can it have to do with it?"

Mary shook her head. "It's 'haven't', not ain't. Really, Laura…"

"…were you born in a barn?" she finished for her, and then went on, "No, I wasn't. I just happen to like to say 'ain't'. Mr. Edwards says it _and_ Pa sometimes!"

"Pa just says it because Ma doesn't like it," her sister sighed. "That's how people who love each other are."

Laura frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You'll understand it when you're older."

"Why does everyone always say that?" she protested.

"Because it's true. Now, come on. Ma wants us to help set the table. Pa's due anytime." Her sister took hold of her arm and began to tug her toward the loft ladder. "Ma wants Pa's belly full before she talks to him."

It was true. It was harder for Pa to get mad on a full stomach.

It didn't make sense, but it _was_ true.

Maybe all that weight made him 'un-fit' to be tied.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Supper was awful quiet. Pa was in one of those moods he had. The kind where he didn't want to say the wrong thing in front of them, so he just didn't say anything. Usually Pa was laughin' and smiling when he came home from the mill. He'd pull her pigtails and ask her how she was doing, pick Carrie up and swing her in the air, and then give Mary a big old hug before kissin' Ma on the lips.

Today he slammed the door behind him, lit a pipe, and sat down in the hearth chair and stared at the fire 'til Ma said supper was ready. Pa was outside now talkin' to Mister Edwards who had come by just as they finished eating. Pa had a funny look on his face when he stepped out the door. Ma kept them busy cleaning up so they couldn't eavesdrop, but she kept looking at the door just like they did tryin' to figure out what was going on. Finally, when they were done, she shooed them up the ladder to do their homework and say their prayers. They did that, but they did it quick and now the two of them were hanging out the window - well, not really - but were pressed up so close to it that they might as well have been.

They was droppin' those eaves at last.

Mary had to protest, of course, sayin' they were breaking the rules by listening in, that Ma said they shouldn't, blah…blah…blah…. But that's because Mary was oldest and she had to act like an adult just to prove she almost was one.

Anyhow, she was shoulder-to-shoulder with her now.

"Can you hear them?" Mary asked.

"Kind of," she whispered back. "I wish they'd move closer."

Pa and Mister Edwards had stopped and were standing just past the sitting stump, but not quite halfway to the barn. It was hard to see them 'cause it was getting dark, but Laura could hear them, so she knew they were there. The wind was blowin' in the direction of the house, carrying the two men's words on it, so she knew as well - in spite of what Mary said - that it was all right to listen.

God was with them.

"I don't know, Charles. Seems…me you should speak up," Mister Edwards said.

"…good would it do?"

"I'm thinkin'…need to hear the truth."

"I told…the truth!" Pa snapped. "No one….listen!"

"Pa sure is mad," Mary said in her ear.

Laura nodded.

"Hey! …on your side!" the mountain man responded.

Inching out, Laura tried to find her pa in the growing darkness. He was standing with his hands in his pants pockets. His shoulders were slumped.

He hardly looked like Pa.

"I know. I'm sorry," Pa said as he moved toward the sitting stump and sat down. "I know you want to help, Isaiah, but there's nothin' you can do. The town's already crucified me."

Laura sucked in air.

"What's wrong?"Mary asked.

The little brown-haired girl shook her head. She didn't want to miss a word.

"Charles, you got friends - _lots_ of friends - just like me that know better." Mister Edwards had come closer too. "Callahan is usin' you as a scapegoat so he don't lose his business."

Pa said nothing for a few seconds. He sounded tired when he spoke. "Time will tell, I guess."

"Time and the _truth_, Charles."

That was Ma. She'd just stepped out of the house. Ma walked over to Pa and put her arm around his shoulders. "Our God is the God of truth. He will see us through."

Laura pulled back and out of the window. Ma had sharper eyes in the dark than Pa and she didn't want to be seen. She went to the bed and sat down. A second later Mary followed her.

"What do you think it's all about?" her sister asked as she sat beside her.

"Ma said 'us'." Laura frowned. "You'd think if it's an 'us' thing that they'd tell us about it."

"Maybe they think we're too young to understand," Mary said.

"They always think that!"

Mary thought a moment longer and then shrugged. "Oh, well. Ma and Pa are smart. They know what they're doing. If we need to know, they'll tell us in time."

Mary was like that. She could just let a thing go.

But _she _wasn't Mary.


	2. Chapter 2

TWO

ooooooooo

It was near the end of the school year and the lines had been drawn. Everyone knew where they could sit and where they couldn't in the classroom. They knew what trees to eat lunch under, and what part of the playground belonged to them and their friends. So it was with surprise - and not a little consternation - that Laura Ingalls saw Nellie Oleson marching right across the battle line toward her with her brother, Willie, in tow. Nellie had that look on her face. That 'I-know-something-you-don't-know-and-I'm-gonna-tell-you-right-now' look.

Standing up, Laura put her lunch down, stood up, dusted off the back of her dress and pantaloons, and went on the attack.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Nellie Oleson?" Laura cast a glance at the other children nearby, including Mary who was headed her way. "You know you're not welcome here!"

"I bet I'll be more welcome than what I have to tell you!" Nellie snapped.

"Yeah, what she has to tell you!" Willie echoed with a wrinkle of his nose.

"What makes you think I'd want to hear anything you have to say?" she shot back. "All you do is lie!"

Nellie did that thing she did. She cocked her head and made a face. At the same time she planted her hands on her hips.

"Well, then, I guess that means I have something in common with your _Pa!"_

Laura resisted the urge to look at her sister. That would have let Nellie know they didn't know what she was talking about.

"My Pa isn't a liar!"

"That's not what Mister Callahan says!" Willie chimed in - and immediately fell silent when Nellie gave him a withering look.

"What's Mister Callahan got to do with this?" Mary asked in that tone that _she_ had. Laura wondered how she did that? Sounding like she was askin' for a piece of candy when she was mad enough to spit.

"Well, just _everything_…." Nellie answered - and left it dangling.

Willie leaned in and whispered, "Everything…."

Boy, did she want to pop him on the nose!

Pa didn't really like Mister Callahan, but due to what Pa called his 'Christian duty' he'd done work for the older man before. Mister Callahan was another carpenter in the area who usually got all the big jobs like building buildings on account of he yelled a lot and was pushy.

Pa called him 'aggressive'.

Just a short time back Mister Callahan had a roof to lay and he'd fallen off while doin' in and couldn't finish. Ma'd argued with him, but Pa said you had to 'love your enemies' and he'd offered to finish up the job. She'd heard Pa talkin' to Ma late one night. He'd been a little worried about how Mister Callahan had done the earlier work on the roof. Pa called it 'shoddy'.

Laura looked at Nellie. She wondered if _that _had anything to do with what she was talking about.

Mary was lookin' at her sideways. She was wondering that too.

"Okay, Nellie, you got somethin' you're bustin' to say, you just say it!"

Nellie tossed her head - just to make her ringlets bounce, she bet. "Well, I heard Mister Callahan talking to my father about your Pa. He said your Pa wasn't fit to be a carpenter and the reason Mister Guthrie's roof collapsed was because your pa didn't know what he was doing. That's why Mrs. Guthrie got hurt when the roof fell in on her and broke her shoulder. Mister Callahan said she could've been _killed!"_ Nellie leaned in. "Mister Callahan said he was gonna sue the pants off your pa. Though why he'd want those dirty old homespun things, I'd never know!" she ended with a smirk.

She'd promised Ma and Pa she wouldn't hit, shove, or smack Nellie. She's even promised God on her knees that she wouldn't.

It was good thing God was all about forgiveness.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Laura screamed as she plowed into Nellie. It had rained the night before and she sure relished drivin' those ringlets and Nellie's frilly silly pink and white store-bought dress into the mud. "My pa's a_ great_ carpenter and he ain't ever hurt anyone!"

"Nellie! Laura! Stop that!"

Boy, that was fast.

Laura looked up to find Miss Beadle coming toward them.

Nellie glared at her from behind a row of muddy curls. "Why don't you ask Miss Beadle?" she sniped. "She knows _all_ about it!"

Their teacher was standing over them. She let out a familiar sigh. "Nellie, Willie, why don't you go on home? You're going to need to change."

"Do we need to come back?" Willie asked, hopeful that they didn't.

"No. We're going to take a nature walk, so you may be dismissed from that."

Nellie's gaze shot to her. "What about Laura? She started it!"

"I did not! You were sayin' bad things about my pa!"

"Girls!" The blonde woman turned to Nellie. "What I do about Laura is my concern, not yours. Now go get your books and go home. Please read from page fifteen to twenty in your reader for tomorrow."

"Yes, Ma'am," both Willie and Nellie murmured. Of course, Nellie being Nellie, she couldn't leave without one final shot.

"You can tell your Pa when you get home that my mother will make him some biscuits and bring them to him when he's in prison!"

After Nellie departed. Miss Beadle looked from her to Mary. "Were you two quarreling about Mister Callahan's claims concerning the work done at Mrs. Guthrie's?"

Laura nodded.

"Do you know what it's all about, Miss Beadle?" Laura asked.

"Your parents haven't told you?"

"No," Mary answered. "But Nellie said -"

"Let's not go into what Nellie said." Miss Beadle turned to look over her shoulder. "Sally?"

Sally was one of the older responsible girls. "Yes, Ma'am?"

"Will you tell the children it's time to go in? Start them on their math equations. I'll be there shortly."

Sally nodded and headed toward the school.

Miss Beadle took both of them by the hand and led them back into the shade beneath the tree. There was a bench there and they sat down.

"I feel…awkward telling you this since your parents have not, but since Nellie brought it up…. Well, I think I have to."

"What's going on, Miss Beadle?" Mary asked. "Did Pa do something wrong?"

The blonde woman smiled. "I know your father, and I know his work. I am sure he didn't. But Mister Callahan has accused him of wrongdoing - and of willful negligence. These are serious charges."

"Nellie said a roof collapsed and Mrs. Guthrie got hurt," Laura said.

"Yes. Mister Callahan had done most of the work and your father finished the job for him as a favor. Your father spoke to several people about his concern that the earlier work was not done correctly. Their testimony will help him if it comes to a trial."

"It could come to a trial?" Laura swallowed hard over her fear. "Pa _could_ go to prison like Nellie said?"

"If he was found guilty." Miss Beadles touched her hand. "But he won't be. Your father has many witnesses to his character." Her teacher smiled. "Let's just hope Mister Callahan retracts his accusations and it doesn't come to that."

Laura was thinking. "Miss Beadle, what's a scapegoat?"

She was surprised. "Why do you ask?"

"Pa said Mister Callahan was making a scapegoat of him."

"And how do you know that if you weren't informed by your parents of the situation?"

Mary fessed up. "We were listening at the window last night."

"I see." Their teacher thought a moment. "Well, in the Old Testament, a scapegoat - a goat chosen specially - was used to bear the sins of the Jewish people. In a way, they were its burden. It carried them. During a festival of atonement, the goat was driven out into the wilderness, carrying the people's sins away with it." Miss Beadle paused. "Your father was most likely upset. He may see himself as bearing Mister Callahan's sins."

"He said he'd already been 'crucified' by the town."

"Oh, dear! Well, I know there are a few people siding with Mister Callahan. Mostly his friends." Miss Beadle paused. "We need to do something to let your father know he is not alone."

"Thank you, Miss Beadle."

"Are you gonna tell Ma and Pa that you told us?"

She nodded. "Yes. I have to. You wouldn't want me to lie like Mister Callahan is, would you?"

"No, Ma'am," Mary answered for both of them.

"All right, then," Miss Beadle said as she stood. "Let's get back to the classroom. I'll gather a few of the townspeople together later and come out to see your parents. They need to know that they have our support."


	3. Chapter 3

THREE

oooooooooo

Pa went to bed early that night before and she heard him getting up early the next mornin' - so early it was still dark. Usually Pa got up around 4:30, but Laura figured it couldn't be later than 3:00. She heard Ma say something to him and then, a few minutes later, heard the door open and close. Sliding out of bed, she'd gone to the window and watched him walk out to the barn. When he didn't come back out with a pail in his hands or somethin', she figured he was out there talkin' to God.

Pa did that a lot.

After that she'd crawled back into bed and tried to go back to sleep, but it just didn't work. She laid there lookin' at the ceiling and listenin' to Mary snore for about an hour and then gave up. The sun was just dawnin', so she figured Pa wouldn't get too mad if she showed up in the barn lookin' for Whitey, her cat, or maybe even to get some grain to give Pat and Patty a treat. Slipping out of bed again, Laura crossed over to where she'd left her clothes the night before, pulled them on, and then went down the loft ladder to the main floor. Ma wasn't snorin', but she was making soft little noises, so she was still asleep. Carrie was asleep too and even Jack, who was laying close to the remains of the fire. Laura moved as quietly as she could and crossed over to the door. She opened it and stepped outside.

And headed for the barn.

Pa was still inside. She could hear him moving around. If he'd been praying, he was done, which was a good thing. She didn't want to interrupt him talking to God. With her ear against the door, she listened for just a moment longer to make sure and then drew a deep breath and opened it.

With a little apology to God, she said, "Pa! I didn't know you were in here. I was comin' in to get a treat for Pat and Patty."

Pa turned toward her. He looked tired. _Really _tired. His shoulders were kind of slumped and his eyes had shadows.

"Hey, Half-pint," he said half-heartedly. "You're up early."

"I couldn't sleep," she said, and it made her feel good to know that - this time - she was telling the truth. "Couldn't you sleep either?"

He sort of grinned. "I guess not. I thought I'd just start early. With summer comin', there's lots to be done."

Springtime planting, for one.

Laura bit her lip. "You look kind of tired, Pa."

For a moment she thought he would deny it, but he didn't. "I guess I am."

This was it.

"Is something wrong, Pa?"

Miss Beadle hadn't been out yet, so Pa didn't know she and Mary already knowed all about it.

His eyes narrowed. "You hear somethin' at school?"

"Yes, sir. About Mister Callahan and the roof."

_That_ wasn't a lie either.

Pa ran a hand over his face. "I suppose it was too much to hope someone wouldn't' say somethin'. Was it Nellie?"

She nodded.

"What did she say?"

Laura drew a breath. "That the roof you worked on collapsed and Mrs. Guthrie got hurt and Mister Callahan's blamin' you for it falling in."

Pa sat down on a hay bale "That's about the size of it."

She went over to sit beside him and put her arm around his waist. "I'm so sorry, Pa."

He smiled at her and then circled her shoulders with _his_ arm. "I'm sorry too, Half-pint. Sorry to cause you and your ma and sisters such trouble."

"It's not your fault, Pa."

Pa was silent a moment. "No, it's not, but I'm gonna have a hard time provin' it. I was the last one worked on the roof."

"Is that why you said you were a scapegoat?"

Oops.

Her father pursed his lips and shook his head. "You been listenin' at the window again?"

Lying wasn't gonna make it any better.

"Yes, sir. I…Mary and me, well, we were worried about you. You've been awful quiet. We knew something was wrong."

"I guess your ma and me should have told you, but I was hopin' the whole thing would blow over before we had to." Pa let out a sigh. "After yesterday, I don't think that's gonna happen."

"Did Mister Callahan do something else yesterday?"

He looked at her a long time, as if deciding what to say. "Half-pint, this is hard to hear, but I'm tellin' you because you need to know. He sent for the marshal. He's gonna press charges."

"But you didn't do anything wrong!"

"No. No, I didn't. But sometimes an innocent man is made to pay for the sins of others."

Laura chewed her lip.

In for a penny….

"Pa, I been thinkin' about something. Can I ask you about it?"

"Does it have to do with Mister Callahan?"

"Yes…and no." Laura hesitated. "You promise you won't get mad?"

Pa made that face. The one where he blew out a little puff of air and rolled his eyes. "Well, I don't know as I can promise that 'til I know what it is."

"Was Jesus a scapegoat?"

He blinked. "What?"

"Well, I been thinking. Easter's comin' up and seems to me that what you said about an innocent man paying for the sins of others is what Jesus was. Right?"

Pa had turned toward her. "And?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

In for the pound. She was either gonna get an answer to her question or go to Hell - or maybe both.

"Why did God let Jesus die? I mean, God was his pa, right? Why did God let those awful people hit him and hurt him and," she paused, hearing the same word on her father's lips, "crucify him? I mean, it's just like you, Pa. Jesus was innocent. Why'd God let him die?"

Her Pa said nothing.

So she did.

"Am I goin' to Hell for asking?"

Her father stared at her for several heartbeats. She couldn't tell if he was mad or not.

"What does the Reverend Alden say," he asked at last, "about why God sent Jesus."

"That God loved the world so much He sent Jesus so whoever believed in him could have eternal life. But Pa, why'd he have to _die _to do that? The Reverend Alden also said that Jesus died for sinners even though he never sinned. Seems to me that's not fair."

Pa considered it. Then he nodded. "You're right. It's not."

"But isn't God all about bein' fair and honest and…?"

Pa rose to his feet and held out his hand. "Let's go for a walk," he said. "I think better when I'm movin'."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They left the barn and stepped out into the growing light. It was golden and seemed to set the world on fire. There was a light breeze, a little cool, but not enough to need a shawl. Small green shoots were pushing up through the brown earth, promising that spring wasn't far away. Pa held her hand as they walked. For a while he didn't say anything. Then, as they reached the fence line at the edge of their property, he drew her over to it and sat her on the top rail.

Pa leaned on it beside her.

"I'm gonna tell you a story, Half-pint, and then I'm gonna answer your question. Okay?"

She nodded.

"There was a man. He was a bad man and did terrible things. He was a drinker and took the Lord's name in vain among other things. One day when he was drunk, he killed a woman. He knew what he was doin' was wrong, but he did it anyway. Now what would you say that man deserved?"

It was an awful pretty morning for such an awful story, but she knew Pa was going somewhere with it. "He deserved to go to prison, I expect."

"If he'd killed the woman by accident, prison would have been enough. But he did it knowing it was wrong. When a man does a thing willfully, the price is higher. He deserved to be hung." Pa shifted his hold on the fence rail and turned so his back was against it. "Now, this man, they caught him and took him to prison to await trial. But he was willing to do whatever it took to get away. He attacked the deputy who was watchin' him - nearly killed him too - and escaped."

"He did?"

"He sure did. Now this man, he started to run. He ran fast, thinking he'd get away. But while he was running, he realized there was someone comin' after him running just as fast. So he ran faster. In fact, he ran so fast he lost his footing and fell over the side of a cliff. On the way down he caught hold of a branch. Now that branch was the only thing keepin' him from fallin' about a hundred feet to his death."

"Did he fall?" she asked.

Pa turned to look at her. "It was all he could do not to. So he hung there shouting and crying and beggin' for someone to come save him. He hung there as the day turned into night and then back into day. When he was just about ready to give up, he heard someone movin' above him and saw a hand reach down. He couldn't believe who it was."

She'd inched a little closer to him. "Who'd he see, Pa?"

"That man who was reachin' down to him? He was the husband of the woman he'd killed."

"I bet that man let him fall, didn't he?"

"Well, you know, that's what you or me would have done. But that man, he reached right down and pulled the bad man up the hill and saved him."

"Even though he didn't deserve it?"

"Even though. You see, half-pint, that man hanging there - that murderer - that's you and me. We're the ones who killed Jesus with our sins, not God. And God is that man at the top of the hill, reaching down to save us even though we killed someone He loved."

"But…."

"Go ahead."

"But I didn't kill Jesus. I wasn't even born!"

Pa chuckled. "I remember sayin' that too when I was a boy."

Laura gave a little gasp. "You mean, _you_ asked the same question?"

"I think every Christian does at some time. It don't seem fair to pay for what others did, but if the truth be told, we're all sinners. We all break God's rules every day. We all deserve death, just like that man, but God gives us life." Her father paused. He shook his head. "Charles, you're talkin' to the choir," he muttered under his breath.

"You're what?"

"Mister Callahan. I've been so busy worryin' about me and my reputation that I haven't considered that's what he's worried about too. Maybe I should try helping him instead of fighting him."

"You mean, even though you didn't do nothin' wrong about the roof…."

"Let he who is without sin throw the first stone." Pa stopped and looked at her. "Do you understand now why Jesus had to die?"

She nodded. "Like Miss Beadle said, Jesus was the scapegoat. He took everybody's sins and carried them away."

"Only Jesus wasn't like that goat. It had no choice. He knew what he was doin'." Pa punched her nose gently with two fingers. "And he did it for you and for me so we could be free."

Pa offered her a hand and she jumped down. As they began to walk, she asked, "What're you gonna do about Mister Callahan and the marshal comin'?"

"Well, first, I'm gonna think on it as we walk and then, after eatin' some of that fine cookin' of your ma's, I'm gonna go talk to him and see if we can come to an agreement."

"You think he'll listen, Pa?"

Pa gave her a smile.

"How about, as we walk, you and I ask Jesus about that?"


	4. Chapter 4

FOUR

oooooooo

In the end Pa didn't have to go to Mister Callahan, Mister Callahan came to him. Miss Beadle was still in the house with Ma, drinkin' some tea when he arrived. The other people from the town - Mr. Oleson, Mr. Hanson, the blacksmith and feed store owner - all came with her. So did Mister Edwards and some of their other friends. Pa was still tired, so it was real hard for him to keep from crying. They hadn't been in the town all that long and yet each and every one of the people who came out to the house told Pa they knew he was speakin' the truth and they'd support him - even in court, if it came to it.

Ma didn't worry about cryin', but that's how it is with ladies.

When all the men left, Pa went out to the barn leavin' Ma and Miss Beadle in the house. They got to say 'hi' to her and then got shooed out so the two of them could have some 'grown-up' talk. Carrie needed to use the necessary, so Mary scooped her up and headed that way leavin' her in the yard playing with Jack.

That was when she saw Mister Callahan coming.

He was a big man, taller than Pa and about twice as wide at the shoulders. Pa was strong and powerful but in a quiet kind of way. It didn't really show when you looked at him. Pa said Mister Callahan had been a carpenter and builder for longer than he'd been alive, so he had to be a hundred at least. His hair and whiskers were white and his skin was brown as a berry from the sun. He'd always been nice to her and her sisters.

She kind of wondered what had happened.

"Laura," the older man said as he stopped just inside the yard, "is your pa home?"

She tossed the ball she was holding and sent Jack running before answering. "Yes, sir. He's in the barn."

Mister Callahan's light blue eyes narrowed as he looked that way. "Do you think it would be okay if I talked to him?"

She wasn't sure how to answer, but she thought about what she and Pa had done last night - prayed that he would be able to make peace with Mister Callahan - and here he was!

"I'm sure it would be fine, sir," she said. "I'll go tell him -"

"Chet. What brings you out so early?" she heard Pa ask.

They both turned to see Pa coming out of the barn .

Mister Callahan ran a hand alongside the back of his neck. "Well, Ingalls…Charles….I wanted to…." He cleared his throat. His eyes shot to her. "Does the girl know?"

Pa came over and ringed her shoulders with his arm. "Laura knows about you accusin' me of lying."

Pa's voice was stern. Like it got when she'd done something wrong.

The older man opened his mouth and closed it. Then, he knelt down and looked her in the eye. "Child, I want to apologize. What I did was wrong. Your pa's a good man. He hasn't done anything wrong."

Laura looked at her pa. He was smiling like he did when all the men in Walnut Grove showed up to move those feed sacks for him and save their farm!

"Laura," he said, "why don't you go in and tell your Ma and Miss Beadle that Chet is here. Tell her to put on some coffee."

In other words, Pa wanted to talk to Mister Callahan alone.

Jack was back, nipping at her ankles. She picked him up. "I'll take Jack with me," she said. "You don't need him nosin' around."

Pa laughed.

It _sure_ sounded good.

"You do that We'll be in shortly."

And with that, the two men headed toward the barn.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was late that night, after supper, when she found out what Mister Callahan had to say. Pa called all of them but Carrie over to the hearth. She was already asleep in bed. He had the Bible in his hand. First of all, he had them sit down and then he read a passage in Mark. 'For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.' Pa said he chose that scripture to show them why all the people from the town came out to talk to him. They were bearing 'true' witness and their stories all did agree. Then he moved on to Proverbs 25. 'A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.' Pa said that meant that false witness could make a man lose his life.

Like he could have.

After that, he closed the Bible and rested his hand on it. "I wanted to tell you all what Chet…what Mister Callahan and I talked about. I know you're thinkin' he was a bad man for lyin' about me, and what he did _was _bad, but he's a good man and he came to me like the Good Book says to make it right 'cause he knew he had done wrong."

None of them said anything, though they had a million _million_ questions.

"Chet's been in the carpentry business for over 50 years," Pa went on. "He was raisin' buildings and puttin' on roofs before I was born. It kind of surprised me when I went over to finish that building just how poorly it had been done. I knew that roof was shaky and I should have said somethin' to him about it. I didn't, and that's my fault."

"You were just bein' kind," Ma said.

Pa nodded. "I thought I was. Anyhow, I was right and the roof fell in and Mrs. Guthrie got hurt. I got another surprise when Chet started blamin' me and tellin' everyone that I did that bad work."

"Did you find out why he did that, Pa?" Mary asked.

"Yes, I did. Chet didn't put that roof on. His son did."

"His son?" Ma asked, surprised. "I didn't know he had a son."

"One that's been a thorn in his side his whole life long," Pa said with a sigh. "His name's Will and he's been in and out of jail most of his life. He'd just been released from prison and came home beggin' his pa for a job. Chet got laid up takin' care of his wife who got sick and Will did most of the roofing - and did it poorly."

Ma's hand had gone to her lips. "So, if Mister Callahan admitted that it was his son who had failed to roof the house properly - "

"Will could have been sent back to prison," Pa finished.

"But to put the blame on you, Charles!" Ma shook her head. "_You_ could have gone to prison!"

Pa looked right at her. "Half-pint, do you remember what we prayed about last night?"

She nodded. "I sure do, Pa. That God would see that the truth came out."

"And what else?"

She thought a moment. "Oh. That He would take care of us _and_ Mister Callahan."

Pa was lookin' at Ma now. "You see, Half-pint and I were havin' a talk and I realized something. I thought the townspeople had crucified me, and here I was crucifying Chet on my altar of pride. He committed a sin against me, but then, I was committin' one against him too."

Ma smiled. "So you prayed God would make a way and He did."

Pa opened the Bible up again and read from John this time. "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

Laura was leanin' on her hand, staring at her Pa's hands folded on top of the old leather Bible. "I bet that scapegoat felt mighty good," she muttered.

Her mother turned toward her. "What?"

She straightened up. "Well, even though it didn't do anything wrong - like Jesus - and that old scapegoat got mighty dirty from taking everyone's sins, I bet it felt good on account of it got to wash all those people clean and make them free."

Pa smiled at her. "So, you got the answer to your question?"

Laura nodded. "I sure did Pa."

And tonight in her prayers she'd be sure to thank Jesus for dying.

So she could live.


End file.
